Albuquerque man accused of trying to set SoCal preschool and strip mall on fire

May 22—An Albuquerque man was indicted Wednesday for trying to burn a church preschool and strip mall last month in Southern California.

Jonathan Nava, 36, is charged with two counts of attempted destruction of property by means of fire.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Nava was arrested on April 24 and charged in California state court prior to a federal case being brought against him.

If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison.

According to New Mexico court records, Nava is currently on probation after pleading guilty in a 2022 case where he crashed into multiple police cars and tried to burn a gas pump.

A warrant was issued for his arrest in April after he left a counseling program, refused to undergo anger management and quit his job at Jiffy Lube.

"It's clear (Nava) has a habit of stopping good things that come to him as he has stopped following basic probation conditions," according to the April 25 violation report.

A day earlier, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded around 1:40 p.m. to a call of an arson at the Retreat Church and Yucaipa Christian Preschool, southeast of San Bernardino, according to a criminal complaint at U.S. District Court.

The caller told fire protection that "someone placed a gas can in front of the church and lit it on fire."

Agents said a witness told a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputy they heard a loud noise coming from the exhaust of an older great pickup. They then saw the truck stop, and a man — later identified as Nava — go to the church's front door and pour fluid from "what appeared to be" a red gas can onto the door of the church. The man then turned around and left.

The complaint states that the school's director told the deputy a fire alarm went off inside the church and preschool. Fourteen staff members evacuated 48 children to a grass area outside before calling 911.

Agents said a few hours later, around 4:45 p.m., a fire was reported at an optometrist's office inside a strip mall a mile away from the preschool. A deputy reported smelling a strong gas odor and saw black burn marks on a wall.

According to the complaint, based on an agent's observations, "the fire was set with an open flame device, like a lighter, and the fire was accelerated using an ignitable liquid, like gasoline."

About an hour later, at 5:45 p.m., the complaint states, someone called 911 to report the gray pickup was stuck on top of a chain-link fence. A deputy arrived and saw Nava trying to free the truck from the fence.

The truck then burst into flames and Nava screamed. The deputy opened the door, and Nava fell to the ground with his leg on fire.

The complaint states that the deputy dragged Nava out along with a few items from the truck. As firefighters were extinguishing the truck, an agent recognized the truck as the one he saw on surveillance parked at the church and preschool.

In 2022, agents said that Nava has been accused of trying to set a gas pump on fire in Albuquerque, on the 800 block of Arno SE, near Broadway.

According to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court, Nava had been seen starting fires in the city. When officers found his vehicle, they saw him try to light a gas pump on fire. When he saw the officers, he fled and collided with multiple police vehicles before crashing into a gas pump on Yale.

Police said he got out of his vehicle, tried to get an officer's rifle and punched another officer before being arrested.